Saturday, June 28, 2014

52 Ancestors #28: Detective Leo William Broderick

No Story Too Small has issued a New Year's Challenge: "Have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”

This week's blog post is devoted to my great grand uncle Detective Leo William Broderick of Windsor, Ontario.

As a Detective, Broderick appears in newspapers with a Detective Reid. Through my research, I have had the good fortune of finding one of Detective Reid's descendants through ancestry.ca . Detective William Reid would eventually become the "Inspector of Detectives".

Detective Leo William Broderick was the son of Martin Broderick and Mary Hussey. Leo William Broderick was a brother to my great grandmother Mary (Broderick) Moynahan.


1913

Leo William Broderick (aka "Willie") was selected in 1913 from twelve applicants, to act as patrolmen on the Windsor police force

Source: The Windsor Star (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) 17 Apr 1913, Thu • Page 1

The officer pictured in the middle of the road (below) is William Broderick, recently appointed to the force and it was his job to keep the taxis lined up and "he handled the job to perfection"

Source: Windsor Star; 22 Jul 1913;  Page 1

One of the famous trials that Detective Broderick was associated with was that of  John Hogue (alias James Steward) accused of  murdering Deportation Officer Marshall Jackson on the 25th of January 1917. 

Hogue shot Jackson on the train as it was entering Windsor and escaped by jumping off the train while it was moving. Two days later Hogue entered the Essex House and registered for a room as George Emmerson of Chatham. Detective William Reid was made aware of someone matching the description at the Essex House.

Details from The Windsor Evening Record follow:

Windsor Evening Record: March 7, 1917


Crime in Windsor 1912-1920

The Windsor Police have produced an historical book that is available online. Some interesting facts relative to Detective Broderick are:

"The earliest annual chief’s report in existence is from 1917. At this time, the police force consisted of 30 officers. Of these, 20 were constables, two were motorcycle officers riding Harley Davidsons and one was a truant officer. In addition, a patrol wagon had been purchased and was used 1,092 times that year — mostly for the conveyance of prisoners. It was also used 14 times as an ambulance." 

By comparison, the Detroit Police established their motorcycle squad 1908 and their first car was purchased in 1909. By 1929, the Detroit Police had radio-dispatched cars, something that wouldn’t happen in Windsor until 1940. 

 In 1917, there were 20 automobiles stolen — all of which were recovered — and a total of 2,237 charges laid in police court. This was 945 more charges than were prosecuted in 1916. Almost $3,000 in fines was levied for traffic violations. The offences ranged from illegal parking to “furious driving.” 

 By 1918, the police budget was $44,000 with the chief earning $2,000 and a constable, $1,200. That year, officers received a $10-a -month raise and asked for a pension fund. In addition, each officer received a turkey for Christmas. This practice would end in 1925." 


 The Roaring Twenties 

 "By 1920, prohibition had started in the U.S. Our geographic location came into play in a major way. From 1920 to 1934, prohibition would enrich people on both sides of the border from the sale of liquor to the likes of Al Capone and the Purple Gang."






Assumption RC Cemetery, Essex, Ontario
Border Cities Star
13 January 1920
Clipped from The Windsor Star, 13 Jan 1920, Tue, Page 3
Source: Windsor Star: 15 Jan 1920
More Newspaper Clippings
The Windsor Evening Record Feb. 19, 1895


Links

Friday, June 27, 2014

Jeremiah Moynahan - Veteran Detroit Expressman (1849-1905)

The following post is about Jeremiah Moynahan  a veteran Detroit Expressman who died in 1905. I was inspired to write it after receiving a comment on a previous blogpost. This Jeremiah Moynahan is buried in the same Moynahan cemetery plot as my great great great grandfather Denis Moynahan (1792-1885) (see below).






The rest of the article:

"Although he had been ailing many months, his unexpected death came as a shock to his family. Not until a few hours before he passed did he take to his bed. Then Dr. J. T. Hubel was summoned, but he merely shook his head, it was too late.

Dean James Savage, his pastor and neighbour, prepared Mr. Moynahan for death and about 3 o'clock the end came. He was born in Detroit, almost where he died, within the shadow of Most Holy Trinity church, from where the funeral will take place Wednesday morning.

He is survived by a widow and six children, Daniel, Jeremiah and Julia Marie Moynahan, Mrs. Jeremiah Murphy, Mrs. Katherine Barnes and Mrs. E.B. Howard. Mrs Carr of this city and Mrs. Julia Kelly of Milwaukee are sisters.

For several years he was a special officer stationed on Belle Isle bridge but he was best know as an expressman. His honest dealings gained for him an enviable reputation among men engaged in the same business, and it is said of him that a stranger, arriving at one of the depots, was always treated in a kindly way by "Jerry" Moynahan.

Genial, good-hearted, witty, he was a pleasant man to meet. He was one of the unique characters of the sixth ward. His time was taken up entirely with his family and work and the only organization to which he belonged was the Men's Society of S.S. Peter & Paul's Jesuit cathedral.



Jeremiah died October 28 and was  buried October 31, 1905 at Mount Elliott Cemetery. We learn from his death certificate that his father's name was also Jeremiah. Upon examining his sister's (Hannah Moynahan Carr) death certificate below, we have evidence that Jeremiah Sr. was born in Kerry, Ireland.


I also learned from his death certificate that he had ten children (with seven living in 1905 although only six were mentioned in the obituary?). I also learned from Jeremiah's obituary that in 1905 he lived at 121 Porter St Detroit.

Looking at historic Detroit City Directories (1856-1896) I found the following:

Polks Detroit City Directory 1855-56
1861 Detroit City Directory
1880 Detroit Directory Pages 618-619

Detroit City and Wayne County Directory 1886

1893 Detroit City Directory
Belle Isle Bridge Approach - Detroit
Links
Original Document
The Connection?

The Moynahan Cemetery Lot at Mount Elliot in Detroit

My great great great grandfather Denis Moynahan is buried with Jeremiah and many other Moynahans in Detroit.

Received 1988 from Mt Elliot Cemetery Detroit
The Moynahan Plot

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

52 Ancestors #27: Kent County (Ontario) Moynahan Ancestors

No Story Too Small has issued a New Year's Challenge: "Have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”

A really important part of my Moynahan family history takes place in Kent County, Ontario so I decided to add the Kent County branch of the OGS to my Ontario Genealogical Society membership today.

Kent County, Ontario 1885
I know so very little about Denis Moynahan's sons Matthew, Timothy and Patrick who moved from Essex County to Kent County in the 1860s. I have always believed that these brothers could be in one of the family photographs that I have never been able to identify.

Photo: Tilbury Main St 1887
Tilbury Moynahan ancestors: Matthew, Timothy and Patrick
In 1981, when I was just beginning my genealogical research (and long before the internet), I wrote letters to all the "Moynahans" in the Tilbury phone book in the hope that I could learn more about this branch of my family tree.

Bernice (Neveux) Moynahan (wife of Alfred) responded (Feb. 16, 1988) and Jerry Moynahan responded (Feb. 15, 1988)
Jerry Moynahan's letter of Feb 15, 1988
I feel so grateful for this lucky connection. One of the true gifts of doing family research is meeting branches of your family tree that you never knew about. Jerry and Aldeen were that kind of gift! Such a joy to have met them both.

We shared family history information (his grandfather was Timothy Moynahan - 1847-1929). Jerry and his beloved life partner Aldeen attended one of our Moynahan family reunions in Tecumseh, Ontario. 

Jerry and Aldeen are pictured below at the Moynahan reunion in Tecumseh, Ontario (with my two children circa 1996)

Jerrry and Aldeen Moynahan
attending the Moynahan Annual Reunion Tecumseh, Ontario
Sadly Aldeen and Jerry have both passed now. I am eternally grateful for having met them and their friendship.

Maple Leaf Cemetery, Tilbury

I visited the home of Jerry and Aldeen in Tilbury where Jerry gifted me with a birdhouse made by his own hands (pictured below). 
Birdhouse made by Jerry Moynahan
With Jerry's passing and other life events, my research on the Tilbury Moynahan's waned. I managed to connect again through ancestry.ca with relatives. Here is what I know and have learned so far.

The two Moynahan brothers (Matthew and Timothy) married two sisters (Catherine and Julie Ann Carr). 

Patrick never married and he was living with his father Denis (who died in 1885) according to the 1881 census for Tilbury East. Poor Patrick died as a result of being hit by a train in 1909 while working for the Windsor Gas Co.




The Comber Herald Oct 7 1909
!881 Census: Tilbury East




Thursday, June 19, 2014

52 Ancestors #26: John Moynahan: Labour Leader

Circa 1935: John Moynahan in the arms of his father Ernest Moynahan
with his mother Rhea (Coughlin) Moynahan and sister Patricia Moynahan
No Story Too Small has issued a New Year's Challenge: "Have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”

This is but a brief blog post with highlights of my Uncle John's life using pictures, newsclippings and web links. 

Much more could be written. I will leave that to my Windsor cousins who knew him best.

Writing about my beloved Uncle John also serves to highlight parts of my own father's (John's brother) early years in Windsor Ontario. He appears in some of the early pictures below.

Left to Right: John, Bernard, Ernie Jr. Ernie Sr. and Patricia Moynahan
Left to Right: Rhea (Coughlin), Ernie Sr., Ernie Jr., Patricia and John Moynahan 
on Marentette Ave., Windsor, Ont
Left to Right: Ernies (Jr and Sr) Patricia, Rhea (coughlin) and John Moynahan.

The Early Years

John identified himself as "The son of a Ford Canada worker" and a "typical Irish Catholic kid who grew up on Erie St."

John Moynahan's father Ernest Moynahan working
 at Fords Windsor, Ontario
"As a youth, he once considered taking up the religious life as a Christian brother but instead became a union leader where he often found himself helping people cope with their problems".

"When he was nine, he began packing potatoes at a grocery store and continued working there through high school. But that job, plus a paper route provided both a boost and the downfall to his academic career.

Moynahan said he always wanted to go to assumption High School but his parents couldn't afford the tuition. In Grade 10 he went anyway, using his part-time job to pay the tuition.

All went well until he and many other students failed Latin and the school decided to hold tutorials after regular classes - meaning he wouldn't be able to work and pay his tuition.

At that point he went to Tech and began his career as a tool and die maker."

"He was eleven years old when he witnessed the historic 1945 strike at Ford almost on his doorstep. In an interview (in 1981), he recalled going to the soup kitchens on Drouillard Road.
1945 Ford Strike - Windsor Ontario
A couple years after the Ford walkout, he led the first strike in Grade 9 at St. Joseph secondary school to lend support to a student demand for additional gym equipment.

The strike succeeded but Moynahan was tabbed as a ringleader and he had to learn the fine art of negotiation with the nun in charge."

Family

Left to Right: Dan, Elizabeth, Shirley (Brazeau), Lorri and John Moynahan
on Arthur Rd, Windsor.
Son Chris (not in picture) was born later and was a CAW labour activist.
(Picture taken c 1961)
John married his life long love Shirley Jewel Brazeau and they had four wonderful children, two boys and two girls. John and Shirley raised their family on Arthur Rd.

 

President UAW/CAW Local 195

1972-1983


"Moynahan said he started being vocal in the union in the 1950s, but it wasn't until the 1960s that he became actively involved in the union as a skilled trades representative.

He was concerned with the way apprentices were handled and saw the union as a vehicle to express his opinions.

His interest grew as he attended union education courses, but he admits he learned more through talking and arguing with seasoned union leaders."

He started as a Plant Chairman at Dominion Forge before becoming Local 195 President.

"He moved through the ranks of his local and in1971 he was elected vice-president. A few months later, the locals President Bob St Pierre was appointed an international representative in Detroit, and Moynahan found himself at the helm.

John served as the UAW/CAW Local 195 President from 1972-1983; served as an international representative  for Sarnia-Dresden-Chatham-Wallaceburg in 1981; and served as the Windsor Region Director of the CAW from March 1982 until his death in 1987.

Source: Library and Archives Canada

This photograph (above) depicts the Canadian Collective Bargaining Conference held in Toronto on April 10th and 11th, 1976. The conference was held by the United Automobile Workers union who, at the time, represented auto workers in both the United States and Canada. In 1985, the Canadian division would break from this group and form the Canada Auto Workers union which represents auto workers in Canada to this day. The purpose of this conference was to set the general direction for each section of the union and in this case to also protest the wage controls that were being enacted by the Trudeau government at the time. The conference was attended by union representatives from both Canada and the United States. From left to right: Frank Fairchild (Administrative assistant), John Moynahan (President Loc. 195), Robert White (Administrative assistant) and Dennis McDermott (Canadian director of UAW).

Dennis McDermott went on to become the president of the Canadian Labour Congress - Congrès du travail du Canada (CLC) from 1978 to 1986 and Bob White was CLC president 1992 to 1999 (Shirley Carr was president in-between 1986–1992)

Health and Safety Activist: Asbestos

"Stemming from research conducted by McCann and John Pistor, a law student on a Ministry of Labour summer placement with Local 195, the brief presented to Starr by Local 195 president, John Moynahan, outlined in full detail the work histories of the three men - Henry Bednarick, Nelson Masse and Edward Rogers - and how their contact with asbestos was the most likely cause of their cancers. Given that the company had refused union requests to provide more details regarding the work histories of these and other workers, the union was left with no alternative but to present its case to the Workmen's Compensation Board."

This resulted in a precedent-setting decision where the Ontario's Worker's Compensation Board paid a worker who "may have gotten cancer at a Windsor factory."

Ivy Masse, wife of  Nelson Masse at public forum
Montreal Gazette July 23, 1979
The Argus Press Jul 20, 1979

1980 NDP Candidate

"In 1980 John Moynahan took up the New Democrat banner to challenge then incumbent Liberal Mark MacGuigan for the federal riding of Windsor-Walkerville but he was caught in the Liberal sweep across the nation and ran 6,000 votes behind MacGuigan"

Non-profit Social Housing Advocate

A non-profit co-op housing project was named after him: the John Moynahan Co-operative Homes at 1207 Labour Crescent, Windsor Ontario. There are 66 units (Back-split/two-story (4 accessible and modified units)) These homes were established in 1987.

John Moynahan Co-operative Homes, Windsor, Ontario
John Moynahan 1934-1987

"Looking back on his years at the local, he says that he regrets that more has not been done to change some of the inequities of society, and he regrets having deprived his family of his time....and anticipates he may never get around to learning how to play the banjo his wife bought him a few years ago."

Interesting links
Windsor Star Saturday Profile Jan 1981




Emigration Information of the Nineteenth Century



Most genealogists would be delighted to have the detailed information that I have on my ancestor's emigration from Kerry, Ireland to the New World. I have the name of the ship and the Captain. I know how long the trip lasted (45 days) and many other important and interesting details.

Emigration Year c. 1825

I also know that the time period (give or take a few years) circa1825 (given that the family arrived in Windsor in 1828 after having spent three years in Pennsylvania.)

But what if, even loaded with all of that rich information, you find yourself at a "relative dead end"? No records of departure or arrival, no passenger list, no ship information etc?


Our wonderful source for the emigration information, Timothy Moynahan ,""came over when I was nine years of age, my folks settling in Pennsylvania where we lived three years before coming to Windsor."

More details from my blog post :The voyage from the old sod": "The Thomas of Cork, Captain Bamfield , master, was the ship upon which we sailed. She was an old war remnant, as slow as molasses in January and the trip occupied six weeks and three days." 

Old War Ship: The Thomas of Cork


I found a ship called the Thomas sailed twice from Cork in 1820 (based on the Quebec Mercury) and would certainly qualify as "an old war remnant" as Timothy put it:


Aug 13
1820
Ship Thomas and Mary
Master
J. Dysart
Sailed
49 days
From
Cork
7 officers and 86 men of the Royal Artillery
to Govie


Aug 29
1820
Ship Thomas
Master
Wm Bothwick
Sailed
11 July
From
Portsmouth
46 officers and men of the 76th, 37th, 60th and 70th regt.
To R. Hamilton & Co


62 Women, A Flute Player and A Piper Aboard

This is an important clue from Timothy  about who will appear on the passenger list:
"A lonely voyage it would have been too if it had not been for the fact that there were sixty-two women, a flute player and a piper aboard. The women were wives of soldiers that were serving the crown in this country, and they were coming over to join their husbands."

Captain Bamfield Master

 Or could it be Captain James Banfill?
Emigration from Cork to America 1800-1833
My search for more emigration information on my ancestors continues. I have compiled a list of helpful links below.

EmigrationLinks